Method of Controlling a Vehicle or Toy via a Motion-Sensing Device and/or Touch Screen

ABSTRACT

A method for controlling a remote toy by means of a motion sensing device and/or a touch screen on a mobile device. The mobile device can be a standard mobile phone, tablet, or any other device equipped with either a motion sensing device, touch screen, or both for controlling specific movements on a remote toy.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a method for controlling a vehicle or toy by means of a motion-sensing device and/or a touch screen on a user's portable handheld mobile device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditionally, remote controlled toys are controlled by means of a specialized and paired remote control with specific sets of controls. However, the remote control and the toy being separate objects can often be separated and misplaced. As a result, the original functionality of the remote control toy is lost leaving only the toy. Additionally, the remote controlled toys and vehicles are conventionally linked and communicate by means of radio frequency signals. The present invention transcends the traditional remote controlled toys and vehicles by providing a communication link between the toy and the remote control using other types of wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and wireless networking Instead of a dedicated remote control, the present invention provides a method for controlling a toy or a vehicle by means of a mobile device such as a touch screen smart phone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is view of a mobile device displaying the virtual navigator controlling the movement of a remote toy by means of the touch screen.

FIG. 2 is a view of the mobile device controlling the movements of a remote toy by means of the orientation of the motion sensing device.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is a method for controlling a toy or a toy vehicle by means of a mobile communication device such as a smart phone or tablet . The toy or the toy vehicle is controlled and directed by means of the touch screen 20 input or motion sensing device 30 of the smart phone. In some cases, the touch screen 20 input and the motion sensing device 30 can be used together to control toys with different moving parts. The toys of the present invention comprises of wireless receivers that are able to receive signals from the smart phone to perform certain actions. The wireless receivers can receive signals selected from the group consisting Bluetooth, wireless network, infrared, radio signals, or any other suitable forms of wireless communication that is able to relay instructions or data.

To control a toy or a toy vehicle (herein after referred to as a remote toy 2), a user is able scan the vicinity 11 for a remote toy 2 that is compatible for communication. The user is able to scan the vicinity 11 utilizing their portable mobile device 1. The vicinity 11 is defined by a radial area in which the communication link 12 is able to reach. When the present invention is applied using a Bluetooth communication link 12, the vicinity 11 is defined by the radial area about the user's mobile device 1. When the present invention is applied using a wireless network, the vicinity 11 is defined by the radial area about the wireless network router. Any of the devices within the radial area of the wireless network is able to communicate with each other. When the user's portable mobile device 1 detects all of the remote toys 2 or devices within the vicinity 11, a device menu is displayed for the user. The user is then prompted to select a device from the device menu. Once the user selects a device (remote toy 2) the mobile device 1 will prompt the user to confirm a connection with the remote toy 2. When a confirmation is given, a communication link 12 will be initiated and synchronized with the remote toy 2. The connection processes can be manually initiated or it may be learned and be automatic as well.

As a communication link 12 is established between the user's mobile device 1 and the remote toy 2, the user is able to provide the mobile device 1 with instructions to be relayed to the remote toy 2. The user's portable mobile device 1 is able to receive input instructions by means of a touch screen 20 input and/or a motion sensing device 30.

In reference to FIG. 1, in a first embodiment of the present invention, the user can provide input instructions to the remote toy 2 by only the touch screen 20 of the user's portable mobile device 1. In this embodiment, the mobile device 1 displays a virtual navigator 21 on the touch screen 20. The virtual navigator 21 can vary based on the different types of toys. For example, given a toy car, the virtual navigator 21 can display a steering wheel, a throttle pedal, and a brake pedal. If the toy car does not possess variable speeds, the virtual navigator 21 can be a simple blank screen in which the user can draw paths in which the toy car will immediately follow. Given a shooting toy or an action figure, such as a foam dart turret or a walking robot, the virtual navigator 21 can display a joy stick and a series of buttons that correspond to the other different functionalities of the toy. The touch screen 20 on the mobile device 1 is a capacitive touch screen 20 that is capable of sensing the user's fingers, hands, and corresponding translational gestures 22 to be translated into input instruction codes. However, in other applications of the present invention, the touch screen 20 of the mobile device 1 can be a resistive touch screen 20 or any other suitable touch screen 20 technologies that is capable of detecting translational gestures 22 of the user's fingers. The touch screen 20 senses the translational gestures 22 on the touch screen 20 and the corresponding directions of the translational gestures 22 to be translated into input instructions. The input instructions are then transmitted by means of the wireless communication directly to the remote toy 2 to be implemented.

In reference to FIG. 2, in a second embodiment of the present invention, the user can provide the input instructions to the remote toy 2 by means of only the motion sensing device 30 in the user's portable mobile device 1. In this embodiment, the user utilizes the orientation of the motion sensing device 30 within the mobile device 1. The motion sensing device 30 can be any device selected from the group consisting of gyroscopes, accelerometers, or any other device capable of measuring the orientation and motion. The user will be able to control the remote toy's 2 movements by means of tilting the mobile device 1. For example, in remote controlled cars, the user is able tilt the mobile device 1 forward to move the remote car forward. The user is able to tilt the mobile device 1 left and right to move has the remote controlled car toward s the left of the right. The motion sensing device 30 of the mobile device 1 is able to detect the orientation and the motion to be translated into input instructions. The user can even diagonally tilt the motions sensing device to have the remote controlled car for wider turns. For the mobile device 1 to provide the input instructions to the remote toy 2, the motion sensor first provides the processing unit of the mobile device 1 feedback data. The feedback data provides the processing unit with the specific direction and orientation of the mobile device 1 that is then translated into the input instructions. For example, given the direction directly in front of the user is 0 degrees and the user tilts the mobile device 1 downwards at an angle of 25 degrees to the right, the remote controlled vehicle will move forward while maintain a front wheel turn of 25 degrees. Additionally, with a variable speed remote controlled vehicle, the user can vary the amount of forward or backwards tilt to vary the speed of the vehicle. In such cases, the software of the present invention can set different segments of angles to determine the power output of the remote controlled vehicle. The input instructions are transmitted by means of the wireless communication directly to the remote toy 2 to activate certain components to control the specific movements of the vehicles.

Many accelerometers and gyroscope chips are commonly built in current mobile devices such as cell phones and mobile computing devices. The associated user movements from these motion-sensing devices are translated and sent wirelessly to a physical toy or vehicle which moves or functions based on the users' movements. This can be used as the stand-alone control input or in conjunction with other user inputs such as manual controls, touch controls,

In another embodiment of the present invention, the user can use a combination of the touch screen 20 and the motion sensing device 30 s to control a more complex remote toy 2 (for example, a walking action figures with a foam dart launching device). In the application of the present invention where the remote toy 2 is a movable action figure with a foam dart launching device, the user can use the motion sensing device 30 of the mobile device 1 to control the movement of the remote toy 2 while the touch screen 20 is utilized for aiming and launching foam darts. In this example, the tilting of the motion sensing device 30 translates to input instructions that actuate the motion actuators within the remote toy 2 and the translational gestures 22 made onto the touch screen 20 translate into input instructions that actuate the aiming and launching devices on the remote toy 2.

In another application of the present invention, the combination of the motion sensing device 30 with the touch screen 20 interface allows the user to control a remote controlled vehicle with a mounted camera. The motion sensing device 30 can be used by the user to control the movements of the remote controlled vehicle while the touch screen apparatus 20 can be used to control the viewing direction of the camera mounted onto the remote controlled vehicle. In this application, the mobile device 1 is able to receive and display a video feed from the camera from the remote toy 2. This application allows the user to control the remote toy 2 without the need for being in direct view of the remote toy 2 itself.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of utilizing a portable mobile device to wirelessly control a vehicle or toy comprises, scanning vicinity for a remote toy; detecting of the remote toy; prompting the user for a connection to the remote toy; initiating a communication link with the remote toy, wherein the communication link can be automatically paired or manually paired; detecting input instructions; and transmitting the input instructions to the remote toy.
 2. The method of utilizing a portable mobile device to wirelessly control a vehicle or toy as claimed in claim 1 comprises, receiving of the input instructions by means of a touch screen input and a motion sensing device.
 3. The method of utilizing a portable mobile device to wirelessly control a vehicle or toy as claimed in claim 2 comprises, displaying of a control dials on the touch screen; and sensing the translation gestures on the touch screen, wherein the direction of the translation gestures is translated into the input instructions.
 4. The method of utilizing a portable mobile device to wirelessly control a vehicle or toy as claimed in claim 2 comprises, sensing of motion and orientation by the motion sensing device, wherein the motion and the orientation of the motion sensing device is translated into the input instructions; and wherein the motion sensing device can by a sensor selected from the group consisting of gyroscopes or accelerometers.
 5. The method of utilizing a portable mobile device to wirelessly control a vehicle or toy as claimed in claim 1 comprises, wherein the vicinity is a radial area in which the communication link is able to reach.
 6. A method of utilizing a portable mobile device to wirelessly control a vehicle or toy comprises, scanning vicinity for a remote toy; detecting of the remote toy; prompting the user for a connection to the remote toy; initiating a communication link with the remote toy, wherein the vicinity is a radial area in which the communication link is able to reach; detecting input instructions; receiving of the input instructions by means of a touch screen input and a motion sensing device; and transmitting the input instructions to the remote toy, wherein the input instructions are translation gestures that instruct the remote toy to perform actions.
 7. The method of utilizing a portable mobile device to wirelessly control a vehicle or toy as claimed in claim 6 comprises, displaying of a control dials on the touch screen; and sensing the translation gestures on the touch screen, wherein the direction of the translation gestures is translated into the input instructions.
 8. The method of utilizing a portable mobile device to wirelessly control a vehicle or toy as claimed in claim 6 comprises, sensing of motion and orientation by the motion sensing device, wherein the motion and the orientation of the motion sensing device is translated into the input instructions; and wherein the motion sensing device can by a sensor selected from the group consisting of gyroscopes or accelerometers.
 9. A method of controlling a vehicle or toy wirelessly by executing computer-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, the method comprises the steps of: displaying a device menu; synchronizing a communication link with a selected device from the device menu; prompting for input instructions; receiving the input instructions; and sending the input instructions to the selected device.
 10. The method of controlling a vehicle or toy wirelessly by executing computer-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, as claimed in claim 9 comprises, wherein the input instructions by means of a touch screen input and a motion sensing device.
 11. The method of controlling a vehicle or toy wirelessly by executing computer-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, as claimed in claim 10 comprise, displaying of virtual joystick to receive input instructions by means of the touch screen; and detecting translation gestures on the touch screen.
 12. The method of controlling a vehicle or toy wirelessly by executing computer-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, as claimed in claim 10 comprise, detecting orientation of the motion sensing device; and translating feedback data from the motion sensing device into the input instruction.
 13. The method of controlling a vehicle or toy wirelessly by executing computer-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, as claimed in claim 10 comprises, receiving and displaying of video feed data from the selected device. 